Image of firefighters trying to put out overturned fuel tanker fire in Queens from WNBC A two-alarm fire was ignited on the Van Wyck Expressway when a tanker crashed near North Conduit Avenue - and JFK Airport - around noon. The driver could not escape and died in the blaze. The was extinguished by 1:30PM, but WCBS 2 reported, "A sea of foam covered the ramp and surrounding ground area, even catching fire at......

Untitled photo of dancers, by Raymond Haddad at flickr Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an escaped patient on the Van Wyck Expressway in Queens, a homicide on Bruner and Burke Aves. in the Bronx, and shots fired on Bainbridge St. and Lewis Ave. in Brooklyn. Jurors in the Nixzmary Brown murder trial were sent home for the second consecutive day Thursday as the defense, prosecution, and judge met in secret to discuss potentially bombshell......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a staircase collapse on Pennsylvania Ave. in Brooklyn, an unusual escort on Van Wyck and Atlantic Aves. in Queens, and a person fatally struck by a train at 170th St. and Jerome Ave. in the Bronx. 2007 marks the 25th anniversary of the Commodore 64 PC. The computer, which attached the primary system with the monitor and the keyboard, had a whopping 64K of memory. 17 million were sold.......

A 17-year-old who was given a 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 as a starting-college gift was driving in Queens when the car hit a guard rail, "became airborne for 100 feet," and finally hit a concrete pillar. Two passengers, 18-year-olds Devindra Harilal and Christopher Karan, were killed. Police believe driver Sansay Misir was speeding at 50MPH while trying to make a sharp turn on the Van Wyck Expressway. The car also flipped over - there's a......

When it comes to driving routes for a JFK airport pickup, George Costanza advocates taking the Grand Central to the Van Wyck, deriding Kramer’s L.I.E. route as a “suicide mission.” In the current New York Magazine cover story, “How to Escape Airport Hell”, the editors invited chauffeur Kevin Sullivan to weigh in. While he comes down squarely on Costanza’s side, he also shares some invaluable alternative routes to all three airports in the unlikely......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck at 186th St. and Amsterdam in Manhattan, a child was struck and killed by a car on 130th Ave. and Springfield Blvd. in Queens, and a pedestrian was struck by a Bobcat (motorized work vehicle) on Monroe St. and Catherine Slip in Manhattan. Ironic Sans examines the new animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and finds specific references to it taking place in NYC, but a......

When we checked the MTA's Service Alerts for NYC Transit early this morning, there was only a note was flooding causing issues with F service between Jamaica-179th Street Station and the Forest Hills-71st Avenue Station. Now there's a laundry list of subway issues:Due to a water condition at the Parsons Boulevard Station, there is no F train service between the Jamaica-179th Street Station and the Forest Hills-71st Avenue Station. - Stations being bypassed are:169th Street,......

Police in Virginia captured the man they believe shot his friend while on a portion of the Van Wyck Expressway that is within JFK as he was being given a ride to the airport early yesterday morning. The arrest occurred in Richmond, VA and cops believe that the man they arrested took a flight out of New York after killing his friend, who died after being shot twice. 34-year-old Scott Richards was riding, with his......

If you've ever used Google Maps for driving directions, you might like the new feature they added. They've added real-time traffic information to the site. If you're actually navigating at street level though, the new feature isn't very useful. The traffic info only covers some highways and river crossings (it almost looks like only interstates and US highways). And if you're wondering what the colors mean, here's what the Google Blog says: "If your......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an amputation on the Van Wyck, a jumper down in Coney Island, and an off-duty Corrections officer shot in Bed-Stuy. The Lakers may be in town, but Kobe can't play! Bryant is suspended for hitting Manu Ginobili on Sunday, but we think the Knicks will choke. For the first time in 12 years, the city is going to be giving out new Section-8 housing vouchers to non-emergency applicants. The......

I broke my personal record for the single most lucrative fare I’ve ever taken in my five years a yellow cabbie. I drove a couple who’d been out on the town shopping all day to their place off Farmer’s Boulevard in Queens. We listened to the traffic report, and when they heard Matt Ward say that there was a jam on the Van Wyck, they told me to take the Belt. I warned them......

- Ruh roh. Several subway lines are experiencing problems because of the heavy rain. From the MTA: Due to weather conditions, E, F and R service is currently suspended in Queens. V service is suspended in both directions. 2 and 3 service has resumed with delays. 4, 5 and 6 service has resumed with delays. There is no 1 service south of Chambers Street. - The angry ex-member of a commune knew when and......

On Sundays, Gothamist publishes essays about topics relevant to life in New York. The one below is by our favorite poet historian, Matt Levy-- master of the extended metaphor: Welcome back Ladies and Gents, to the hip happening hotspot that’s absolutely not possible: New York City outside the space-time continuum! I am your host and it has been my extraordinary pleasure to allow you, the good readers and citizens of Gotham City, to enjoy......

The Transportation Bond Act, which will direct $2.9 billion of state money to various projects including MTA ones, passed yesterday by a slight/fair margin (depending on which paper you read), 55% to 45%. The proposition was on ballots statewide, and the bulk of the money will help NYC transportation projects: Half the money will go to the MTA, towards the Second Avene Subway and linking Grand Central to Penn Station for LIRR service, while other......

On Sundays, Gothamist asks our friends and neighbors for Op-Ed contributions-- essays about things related to life in New York City. For instance, below, local history expert Matt Levy schools you in some mayoral history: Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the host with the most, the ampitheater that’s coming right at ya, the most glorious arena in the world, New York City – for the time being, not being in time at all! If......

Besides voting on a Mayor in two weeks, New Yorkers will have a chance to vote on the state's proposed $2.9 billion Transportation Bond Act that will put money towards various state and city (mostly MTA) transit projects. We've been noticing a lot of support for the bill (Pataki, Bloomberg, Ferrer, the Straphangers), but there is some opposition, especially from upstate groups which don't necessarily want to be the ones on the hook for a......

Matthew Rose, Wall Street Journal...